A Study Of Spatial Narrative In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

Many literary critics once regarded The Awakening as venomous poison.It tells the story of the heroine Edna who doesn't take the family responsibilities as other women do and is constantly pursuing freedom and equality.In the days of Edna's life,all the rights and freedom women assume granted today were deprived.They can't go shopping alone,and they can't have independent character and property.They have to obey everything that the society sets for them or they will be severely blamed.They can only obey men,abide by women's principles and play a family role as the patriarchal culture sets for them.The Awakening is popular for its unique theme and exquisite narrative techniques.The specific geographical settings and expression techniques in the novel show an important spatial significance.More and more literary reviewers have transferred their attention from time to space.Critics also pay more attention to the issue of space in The Awakening.According to Gabriel Zoran's space theory,this article attempts to explore the textual space,chronotopic space and topographical space so as to figure out the interaction of space and time and their narrative function.There are three parts in this thesis.They are the introduction,the body and the conclusion.The introduction mainly introduces Kate Chopin's literary status and achievements.The relevant researches at home and abroad lead to the research value and significance.Chapter one analyzes the textual space and discourse space in the novel.Discourse space mainly discusses the spatial distance presented by the two perspectives of the heroine Edna and the author Chopin,and analyzes the spatial narrative function produced by the two perspectives.This article analyzes the sense of space of Edna and Chopin through Rene Knight's focus theory.The Awakening generally adopts a zero-focus perspective.However,in order to present Edna's perception perspective better,Chopin expresses her perception of the outside world through Edna's internal focus.Therefore,in analyzing Edna's sense of space,this article mainly shows her sense of space on the outside world through the internal focus of Edna.When Edna and Adele chatted by the sea for the first time,Edna's longing for the ocean is presented through Edna's perception of the ocean under the internal focus.At the end of the story,Edna overcomes the fear of the ocean through the internal focus perception and shows that she is firm about awakening.Chapter two largely explores the chronotopic space from two aspects.From the synchronic aspect,both Adele and Lacey are at rest in narrative.But Edna is in motion at most points of the narrative.As to the diachronic perspective,it reveals Edna is in a circular motion and its determinants.Zoran uses choronotopic space to reflect the interaction between time and space in the process of the characters' movement.The synchronic aspect pays attention to the movement trend of people.Whether the character fits with his spatial situation largely affects the movement trend.In different narrative situations in the story,Lady Lacey and Adele are at rest while Edna is in motion.The diachronic level focuses on the movement of the characters during a certain period of time.The stationary trend of the characters in the synchronic level can't form the movement track,but it produces the direction and the track when the movement tends to occur.This chapter also analyzes the direction of Edna's trajectory and the factors that influence Edna's direction of movement.Chapter three focuses on the influence of the geographical space upon Edna's awakening.Grand Isle and New Orleans reflect different functions in the process of Edna's awakening.The ocean and the lawn play an important role in Edna's awakening.Edna has been intimate with her husband for a while,and their relationship has begun to change after a vacation to Grand Island.Later,Edna started to consider her position in the world.The freedom and wideness of the ocean have always attracted her and continue to trigger her inner desire for freedom.She later learned to swim and chose to walk into the arms of the ocean.The study of spatial narrative expands the dimension of the study of The Awakening to a certain extent.From the space perspective,this thesis explores the novel in the light of the mutual influence of time and space.Through analysis we can see that Chopin shape the characters and express the theme by space technique.The analysis of discourse space illustrates Edna and Chopin's spatial awareness.Edna's cognition shows her longing for the ocean and further understanding of herself.The analysis of spatial narrative is a proof of Chopin's proficiency in narrative skills.It reflects the author's reflection on the individual's independent status in the world.